"The purpose of this letter is to recommend Wesley Coulson and Joe Ilges of The Coulson Law
Group. For simplicity I will refer to them as Wes and Joe. There was at no point any
compensation, gifts or otherwise given to me for writing this letter regarding the planning of my
mother’s affairs. My planning began on December 4, 2007. I sat down with Wes and he
reviewed all of my mother’s affairs. He discussed various types of planning we could do. At the
end of that meeting, Wes explained the cost for that planning. I experienced what many call “sticker shock”. Wes could see that on my expression. He reassured me that it was a lot of
money, but they (The Coulson Law Group) would earn every penny. At that point it was hard
for me to believe, due to the fact that the magnitude of exactly what was going to be involved
was not completely clear to me. I say that not because Wes did not tell me, but rather it was
my own ignorance of the precise details needed for this type of planning. That meeting on
December 4, 2007 lasted four-and-a-half hours. I must point out that at no time during that
meeting did I feel rushed or pressured.
What followed that initial meeting was a multitude of phone calls, faxes and mailings regarding
this planning. The phone calls alone were in the area of 35 hours. There were very few
meetings after the initial one due to the fact that by using the phone, it saved not only them
(The Coulson Law Group) a lot of time and money, but also myself. Time is of the essence in
most planning, and that definitely applied in my case. I could go into detail regarding exactly
what type of planning we did; however, it is completely irrelevant due to the fact that everyone
has different types of planning needs.
During the course of this planning there were many obstacles that had to be overcome. This
was not due to any fault of The Coulson Law Group, but rather my own. This was due to my
finding things in my mother’s affairs of which I was unaware. This happened on several
occasions. This is why it is so important to have an elder law firm, such as The Coulson Law
Group, that has the experience and the resources to handle these situations.
My planning ended on January 29, 2008. I spoke earlier of problems arising. That very day we
had one. I spoke with Joe at 8:45 am and explained the problem. By 1:00 pm Wes and Joe
had solved the problem.
The time for future planning is not in the future. The time is now. You do not know me;
however, I cannot stress the importance of doing this planning now. Too many people (my
mother and myself included) wait until they are behind the eight ball. That is not to say that
planning cannot be done, but rather why wait until a loved one or perhaps yourself is faced
with having to do this planning when time is of the essence. Many people believe they have
taken the steps and have their planning in order. With what I know now, I consider that the
same as doing your own brain surgery. When I met with Wes to finalize things, he asked me “did we earn your money?”. I told him there was no doubt in my mind. I offered to write this
letter with the intent that if it only helps one person to make a decision regarding planning,
then it was well worth my time.
In closing, I would like to say that The Coulson Law Group was a pleasure to work with. I
would recommend them to anyone. I hope that this letter may give you some comfort if you
experience “sticker shock” and help to make your decision much easier. I hope you give The
Coulson Law Group a chance to show you firsthand what planning they can do for you. If you
do, I guarantee you will be writing one of these letters as well."
"They worked with me and had great
suggestions. Took me step by step with the process.
A very good choice. They are extremely
helpful and patient. They will explain things until you totally
understand what is expected
of you & them."
-Michael Hoffman
"I feel I received good advice about estate planning in terms
of options available. I felt I was allowed to make the choices
I was
most comfortable with. There was no 'pressure' to chose
a particular course of action."
- Dennis Staley
"I found everyone at Coulson to be extremely helpful at a very
difficult time. Without their advice, my mother's Medicaid eligibility
process would have been much more costly, difficult & confusing.
I have already recommended Coulson to others. I tell them that there
are ways to help protect assets and to still qualify for Medicaid,
but that trying to do so without good legal advice can end up getting
you into more trouble. As expected, it's a complex bureaucracy, & Coulson
knows how to get through it quickly."
-K. Kaltenbach
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